Chris DeLine

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Cut Off Your Hands Critics’ Pick

Published in City Pages, The Blog. Tags: .

Auckland, New Zealand’s Cut Off Your Hands list a single influence on their MySpace page: Phil Spector. And the lead track from the bands full-length debut, You & I, might suggest such ominous implications to be true. A realistic assessment of the bands sound has far less to do with Spector’s wall of sound however, and far more to do with modern Brit-pop. Not to say that the Kiwis’ youthful energy or galloping rhythms beg any sort of comparison to Robbie Williams, though; rather their sound is something closer to a trimmed down version of the Arctic Monkeys. But unlike the Monkeys, the world has yet to throw itself at the band’s feet, and Cut Off Your Hands are still hustling to make good on the opportunities they have (see: seven scheduled SXSW shows). Local acts A Night in the Box and Victory ship will open.

[This critics’ pick was originally published by City Pages.]